PhD Financial Support

The Behavioral Neuroscience PhD program seeks to attract doctoral students who show exceptional promise in research and scholarship. The admission process is highly competitive. All successful applicants are guaranteed at least five years of support, which includes an annual stipend of at least $30,000/year as well as full coverage of tuition, lab fees, and health insurance.

Students are supported through a variety of funding mechanisms, including:

• Research assistantships, typically funded by the research mentor’s grants.
• Training grants obtained by groups of researchers who obtain funds specifically to support student training.
• Individual training grants for which you can apply with the assistance of your mentor. These grants are available from federal agencies and private foundations.
• Fellowships designed to increase diversity in science, academia, and the professions.
• Teaching assistantships that can involve both assisting faculty in teaching classes and teaching undergraduate courses under faculty supervision.

Graduate Student Scholarship

The Department of Psychology encourages its PhD students to attend scientific conferences to present their research and learn about recent developments in their respective fields of study. It supports this activity through tuition and research scholarships of up to $750. Students who are the first author of a poster or presentation are eligible to apply for a $750 scholarship, and students who are co-authors can apply for up to $300. Scholarships are limited to one award for the academic year (Fall, Spring, and the subsequent Summer term). Scholarship requests for non-presenters or other training will be considered on a case-by-case basis but require justification from the program director.